Stood By Her Side
by El Zoro
Summary: Ever since the new Minister of Magic came, Muggle-borns have been treated badly - including Lily Evans, especially among the Slytherins. Insults, racism and betrayal follow her everywhere - even her bestfriend has left her. She is all alone. But a certain James Potter 'stood by her side'. This is the story of discovery, realization, and most of all - love, in the darkest times.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! So, this is my first EVER fanfiction, so it wont be as perfect like the other fanfics, but I tried this one, and am starting to get a hang of it ;)  
Please review! They will be really helpful for my first time  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.

_**Stood by her side  
**_**  
Chapter 1:**

"Weirdo!"  
"Mud-blood!"  
"Ew, _get away_!"

Comments like these was expected from the 17-year-old witch, Lily Evans, as she made her way through the train corridor. Ever since the new Minister of Magic came, Muggle-born witches and wizards were treated horribly. They were disrespected, they weren't given equal rights, and they were ranked as beggars, and were degraded by the Pure-bloods.

In short: Muggle-borns were treated as dirt.  
And Lily wasn't treated any different.

In fact, she thought her life was worse. Her parents died in an attack by the Death-Eaters, and her big sister Petunia had practically disowned Lily, cutting every kind of communication with her. So Petunia lived with her now-husband, Vernon. Their house being in ruins now, and having no family support, Lily lived alone in a rented apartment, and worked as a waitress in a café to pay for the rent.

She was all alone, and she is used to it.

But she remembers the thing her mother once said, "Don't you ever be weak in front of the world, or they'll take advantage of you. You should always fight back. Show them the brave Lily Evans I know of."  
So its only because of her mother's words, does she wake up in the morning, now to return to Platform 9 ¾ , to go back to Hogwarts for her 7th year, her last year.

To be honest, she did not feel too depressed. This only made her confident, for this showed that people were afraid of her voice, once lifted. _They are only doing this_, she thought_, because they want me to resemble the other present Muggle-borns – depressed and hopeless._ But she wasn't going to break that easy.

"Better stay away from this dump of a compartment, since its been infected with a dirty, ugly MUDBLOOD!" Bellatrix Lestrange shrieked outside the Heads' compartment in which Lily was sitting in.  
Lily simply just rolled her eyes at that, and then said, with eyes on the book she was reading, "That dumb, mangy cow."

She heard a deep chuckle, and then followed by a manly voice, saying, "Hear, hear."

She jumped at the voice, looked at the door, and saw a familiar head of messy, black hair; gold-rimmed square glasses; and a pair of hazel eyes behind the glasses, glinting at her.

It was James Potter, the ladies' man of Hogwarts.

And he had a shiny badge, labeled with a red "**H**" on his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 2:**

_It was James Potter, the ladies' man of Hogwarts.  
And he had a shiny badge, labeled with a red "H", on his chest…_

"You're… you're…." Lily stammered.

James just chuckled at her shocked face, and said, "Yup, I'm head boy, to complete your question. Honestly I first thought I was dreaming, and that Dumbledore must have made a mistake or something…" He looked at his badge, then said, "but then I was like 'Yup, the old man's gone loony over the years'"  
Lily couldn't help but laugh at that. It was true: After what kind of a record James Potter has had in Hogwarts, a record filled with pranks, mischief (and a lot of detentions with his fellow friends), seeing him become the Head Boy would be the last thing anyone would want to see.

James let out a sigh after sitting across of Lily. He simply decided to look at her, while she read her book, labeled 'Pride & Prejudice'.

He looked at the girl he fell in love with in 4th year, and noticed that her appearance had changed.  
No longer was she the thin, red-headed witch with hair that reached till her shoulders. Womanly-curves adorned her body (in all the right places, for James), which made her look even more striking. Her auburn hair now tumbled over her shoulders, till the small of her back. Her pale complexion had numerous freckles all over, especially on her nose and cheeks. Those made her look adorable. She had lips that looked like rose petals, and _her eyes_… His most favorite feature was her eyes… They were like emerald orbs, which seemed even brighter than they were before.

James had never seen a woman as beautiful as she.

Shaking these thoughts out of his mind, he wanted to start a conversation.  
"So… where is Marlene? Isn't she coming with you?"

Lily looked up, and a sad smile graced her lips, as she said, "Uhh no. She isn't my friend anymore. She said she might be a target of the racism and all... you know, if she stayed with me for long."  
_  
Way to go, Prongs_, James thought miserably. _A great way to start a conversation._

"Oh, uhh, sorry for that." James stated lamely.

She smiled. This time the heart-felt kind, that could melt the hearts of anyone. Then she said, "You don't need to be sorry. Besides, I kinda saw it coming."

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

After the patrols being assigned to the prefects, James had excused himself to go visit his gang, The Marauders.  
_The Marauders. _They were the King of Pranksters of Hogwarts. It consisted of 4 people.

Sirius Black, known as Padfoot, the devilishly handsome with black hair that reached his shoulders, teamed up with sparkling grey eyes.  
Remus Lupin, known as Moony, the most sensible of the marauders, with brown, tired eyes and brown shaggy hair.  
Peter Pettigrew, known as Wormtail, wasn't as handsome and as tall as the rest, because of his mouse-y features.  
And James Potter, known as Prongs, the leader of the pack, with hazel eyes which showed a hint of mischief all the time, and black, messy hair which stuck up at its ends.

Lily never really understood the group. But what she knew about the group, and what she really liked, that they were extremely loyal to one another, and would never break anyone's trust.

She sighed as she let her head rest against the cool window-pain of the train compartment, thinking of ways to prepare herself for the things that had yet to come. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note**: Things might be going slow at the moment, but really, I wanted to go forward at a steady pace, and didn't want to rush with things. And this chapter is a long one, hope you like it! Review please! Your thoughts for my first time will be helpful.  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 3:**

Lily entered the Hogwarts' premises, with a new kind of hope and a big smile on her face. _One more year, and I'm independent! _ She looked up to the starry sky, and whispered, "Hope you're proud of me, mom. I won't let you down." Then she entered the huge wooden doors of Hogwarts.

She ate silently at the great hall, and left early for a bit of rest. She was going down the corridor, when 2 people blocked her way – they were Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and to Lily's surprise, Severus Snape.  
"You're blocking my way. Move aside." Lily said firmly, all the while looking at the 3 in the eye.  
"Why should we?" came Lucius' snake-like voice.  
"Because I'm asking you nicely." Lily said this while putting a firm hand on her wand, just in case.  
Then came Bellatrix's shrieking laugh, as she spoke, "'Asking you nicely?' HA! I'd like to fight her once!"

Her mother's words echoed in her mind.  
_Don't you ever be weak …  
You have to fight back…  
Fight back…_

Then she drew her wand out, and said challengingly, "Bring it on"

She wasn't going to go without a fight.  
Not today.

Bellatrix drew out her wand too, but Lily was too quick for her, and disarmed her.  
Lily chuckled at Bellatrix's shocked face.

"Had fun yet, Bellatrix?" she said.

Lucius came in front of her, and with a lazy flick of his wrist, he disarmed Lily, sending her wand flying out of her hand, into Lucius' hand. Now she was defenseless.

Lucius took a step forward, and said slowly, "Aw, poor Lily, no one here to save you this time"  
She was backed against the wall, with Severus and Lucius blocking her in, and Bellatrix just enjoying the view.  
"You think you are superior? You think making you head girl will ever make a difference of _what _you really are?" Snape said. 

Lily couldn't find her voice. She was too afraid of what could happen next…  
Lucius noticed the fear on her face, and laughed a cold laugh, as he said, "What's perfect-miss-Evans going to do now? Go to your mother and cry? Or go to your dad to whine like a brat? Oh… wait… I forgot…"

She bit her lip, bracing herself for what he was going to say next.

"Your parents are long-gone DEAD."

Lily flinched at those words. It had been a long while since someone had mentioned her parents' death like that. She felt her eyes sting as tears welled up.

Lucius was making his move to do who-knows-what, when his wand suddenly flew out of his hand after a loud shout of "Expelliarmus!" by another person. She turned to see James, his own wand in one hand, pointing at the Slytherins, and in the other, Lucius' own wand, which he disarmed. 

James stepped in front of Lily to defend her. He faced the 3 people, lifted his chin up and said in a cold voice, "If I see your face again, I won't be so nice. Now run off to your kennel, before I hex your arse into oblivion."  
James threw Lucius' wand to the ground, and he caught it. He and Bellatrix had left, but Severus stood where he was, shaking his head slightly while boring his dark eyes into Lily.

"Should you get a special invitation? Get going right now!" James demanded.

But Severus wasn't paying him attention. He looked at Lily and said to her, "Why, Lily? You'd take Potter over me?"  
Lily gave a humorless laugh and said, "ANYTHING over you, you slimy git!"

Severus' face turned hard and said, "Well, you are nothing but a filthy Mudblood."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" James shouted angrily, bit Severus had left already.

James made his way towards Lily, who had fallen to the ground. If it weren't for his position as Head Boy, he would have used the Avada Kedavra curse on Snape. _How dare he say that to Lily, my Lily?_ He thought.  
As soon as she had hit the ground, James had caught her in his embrace. The tears had started to spill uncontrollably, as Lily rested her head on his chest. He started stroking her hair to comfort her.

They sat like that for a few minutes, which felt like forever for Lily.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

James walked Lily back to their Head dormitory. It was a circular room with a fireplace, some comfy sofas, and 2 doors on either side of the room with their names on it. Lily assumed these were their rooms.

James came and gave her some tea. (_This place has its own kitchen too!_ Lily thought)

After a while, Lily said, "James, thank you for what you did out there. It was really thoughtful, but you didn't have to bother-"  
James cut her off and said, "Don't worry Lily, its cool. Besides, seeing those 3 leave right after you did… I knew something was up."

After a pause, he asked, "Would you really take me over Snape? You know, after all of the teasing I used to do?" His ears had gone red out of embarrassment.  
Lily punched him playfully on the arm, and said, "Of course! I'd never take him! Not after what he has become." 

James put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and said, "Now you get some rest, and I'll return to my mates, yeah?" Lily nodded. 

Before James left, he turned and said, "I loved the fight you put up with Bellatrix."  
And then he disappeared.

Lily couldn't help but smile at that. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** This chapter is longer, and has more feelings. (Plus I wanted to write something on the Marauders too! :P )  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 4:  
**  
"She would actually pick me over Snivelly!"  
At breakfast, James told the story about what happened last night, to his 3 best mates, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

At the moment he was completely over the moon after what Lily had said about him.

_"Of course I'd pick you over him"  
"Of course I'd pick you…"_

"Nice job, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed while giving a high-five to James.

Remus looked at James thoughtfully and said, "Well, of course she'd say that, after what has happened between them."  
James eyebrows furrowed. _Well he's right_, he thought.

Sirius slapped Remus' arm, spilling pumpkin juice all over the book he was reading and said, "Nice going Moony, you ruined the mood here!"  
Remus reacted instantly and slapped the back of Sirius' head, then said calmly, "It's called _being realistic, _if you ask me. But, I have to say, it was pretty heroic of you, Prongs, for saving her like that. Now she'll definitely think positive for you."

James grinned at his friend's statement. Remus was never wrong at technical and (in James' case)_ emotional_ topics.

He admits he hasn't had a good history with Lily. He used to play pranks on her a lot in 1st year, and she'd scream at him, and then they'd fight. He enjoyed this and so continued this routine until 2nd year. In 3rd year, he started asking her out, to which she always replied 'no'. But he had already fallen in love with her till then, and so continued asking her out for a long time. But he stopped doing this in 6th year; the year in which Snape called Lily a… Mudblood, which left Lily depressed.

So then he decided to change plans: Stop being an arrogant toe-rag, in Lily's words. To do so, he gave Lily as much space as possible, and only talked to her occasionally.

It wasn't until 6th year did he actually_ realized_ what kind of toe-rag he_ really_ was towards Lily. He cared for her, and yet he used to play pranks on her, tease her and fight with her!  
_Real smooth, Prongs, real smooth_, he thought miserably.

What James had done was that he had made an image of himself to Lily – a stubborn, arrogant, immature marauder – in which she always believed in. He wanted her to know, he wanted her to _see _how much he's changed, how much he's grown, _all for her_.

_And what she said last night_, he thought_, was a whole new beginning!_ She can now look past the old image of him. _Now she can notice the new James I am…  
_  
"You can finally be civil with her!" Peter squeaked.  
James shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded.  
_Yes he will._ And then shoveled his mouth with bacon, realizing he hadn't eaten a single thing.

"Nice going, Moony. You not only ruined the mood, but also ruined my hair!" came Sirius' voice, who was looking at his reflection at the back of a spoon.  
"Really?" Remus replied happily. "Why, you're welcome Pads."

James and Peter snickered, which caused Sirius to glare at the 2.

"It's not funny, you guys!"

James ruffled Sirius' hair and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, but Padfoot, _everyone_ knows how _irresistibly _handsome you are! You don't even _need_ the hair!"

Sirius smirked and said playfully, "Well I totally agree on the _irresistibly handsome_ part, but I still like to keep my hair, and take care of 'em, thank you very much. I don't want them to turn like Snivelly's!"

And they all laughed.

As James' eyes roamed the vast table, his eyes met with Lily's for the briefest of moments. He saw her blush after wards. Butterflies started zooming in his stomach. He couldn't get enough of that blush.

James saw her leave the table, so he decided to follow.

"See you guys," was all James said, and then he left.

"Where is he going?" Peter asked.  
"To Lily, of course," He said matter-of-factly, but was smiling as well.  
"That's called 'love' my fellow marauders", Sirius said while flinging his left arm around Peter, and his right arm around Remus.

"Something you'll never find" Remus pointed to Sirius.

He scoffed and said, "Puh-lease. Girls are playing hard to get, that's all. You and I both know what Prongsie just said about me, if you want me to quote -"

"Save it Padfoot!", Remus cut him off, while rolling his eyes, and Peter snickered in the background.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Lily! Wait up!"

Lily turned around and smiled at James who was running to her.  
"Oh hi, James! Where are you heading to?" Lily asked.

_I like the way she says my name_, he thought, caught slightly off-guard by it.  
"It's Defense against the Dark Arts, right?" James asked.

She nodded.

"So we are heading there!"

"'We'? But what about your friends?"

"Oh don't worry about them; they were taking too long at breakfast. Now, ladies' first?" James asked, stopping to let her through the oak doors first, winking playfully at her.

She giggled and said, "Why of course!"

Lily remembers the thing that happened the night before too well. And honestly she couldn't thank James enough. If it weren't for him, who knows what would have happened to her…

On the stairs, a Slytherin 7th year girl pushed Lily so badly that she was going to fall. She covered her face with her hands to cushion the fall a bit, but then instantly felt a warm arm circle her waist to stop her from falling. She looked up to see it was James yet again who stopped the fall.

"Thanks." Lily sheepishly said, while blushing a little.  
"No problem, Lily." He said, while giving a genuine smile.

She had long ago noticed the drastic change in James. He wasn't the old, stubborn, immature boy who'd strut around the school and hex anyone he disliked, who'd tease and annoy Lily by asking her out all the time. He had changed into a responsible, loyal and mature man, who'd help others, who'd never start a fight, but rather ended it. And most of all, he stopped annoying her, and became civil with her.

He also changed physically, she admits. He wasn't the scrawny, thin, short bespectacled boy anymore. He was now a fully grown man with a fuller and muscular torso (thanks to Quidditch). He had grown a lot taller than her. His hair was messier than before, and his face had grown quite manly as well, with a straight long nose and an angular jaw, with a hint of stubble on it. His eyes were the same; hazel, filled with emotions that you could depict just by looking at them.

In whole, James grew quite handsome over the years.

It's not that Lily didn't like the changes in his behavior. It was just that why would he change so much all of a sudden? What drove him into doing it? Why did he even bother?

"We're here." Came James' voice.

And they had indeed reached their destination. But before entering, a 1st year came running and said, "Professor McGonagall's calling you 2."

And so they went there. 

As they entered her office and sat down on the seats, she said, "Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you both, Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter on your new posts as Head Girl and Head boy."

Both of them nodded.

Then she continued, "Secondly, Professor Dumbledore has planned a sort of 'welcome party', you can say, for the senior students, 5th year and above on the 15th of October. So there wont be a Halloween ball this term.  
"Not after", the Professor said while looking at James, "What Mr. black did last year."

"Now I couldn't _possibly_ control a wild and drunk Sirius black, now could I?" He finished with his hands up in defense, smirking.

Lily stifled her laugh. She remembered that ball too well. There was a drunken Sirius black who conjured a giant pumpkin in the middle of the ball, just because he 'felt like having pumpkin juice'.

You can imagine what would have happened.

"I suppose not" Came the professor's stern reply, as she carried on,"So, you will have to start the planning soon. You 2, as being the Heads, are going to have to plan out everything. from food and music, to decorations. You both will have to stay together in the ball. I will hand you lists of the things that should be prepared…"

-

As they left her office after almost 2 hours of planning, James said, "So that goes our first class."

"Yeah. But a lot of the planning still remains. When should we complete that?"  
James ruffled his hair a bit, then after a while, he asked, "Saturday at 8? In the Head Dorms?"

Lily smiled. "That'll be great!"

"It's a date!" James said happily.

The corners of Lily's mouth turned slightly upwards. But his smile faltered slightly, when he realized what he just said.

"Oh sorry, no, it's not a _date_ date, it's just a planning-out-session, uh _definitely_ not that, don't think–", he stuttered.

She cut him off this time by laughing and saying "It's okay James. Really."

James sheepishly replied, "Haha, yeah. Um I'm gonna go now, gotta find my mates, you know"

"Okay, see you James."

"See you, Lily."

As she was about to turn round the corner, she heard him angrily say to himself, "'_It's a date_'! Seriously Prongs! That's the _best_ you can do? Stupid, stupid, _stupid_…"

She couldn't help but giggle at that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors note:** Finally got a new chapter! I was almost on writer's block! But at least I got it! Hope you like it.  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

**Chapter 5:**

Saturday had come in a blink of an eye. James eyes fluttered open because of the ray of sunshine coming in the room.  
He laid on his back, looked up to the ceiling, smiling. _Today,_ he thought, _was going to be wicked!_  
He got up, took a bath, dressed up, and then went to grab his glasses as he made his way for breakfast.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lily woke up, curled up in a ball. She checked the time on her side table.  
It was just 10:33 am. She got up and sat on the edge of her bed. She smiled as she remembered she has a meeting with James that day.

She was actually looking forward to it.  
Then she got up, got dressed and went down for breakfast.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Well, look who's all smiles for today!"  
Sirius was right. Throughout the trip from his room till the Great Hall, he was smiling. And he positively couldn't help it.  
"Well you can't blame me, can you?" James replied.  
Sirius clapped him on the back, and said, "Never did, mate."

Now James was grinning like a retard.

Remus chuckled when he saw James' face, then said, "Mate, stop doing that, your lips are gonna fall off!"  
"I can't help it! James aid defensively, lifting his hands, which caused the three to laugh.  
James rolled his eyes, but then his eyes got caught at the oak doors, where he thought he saw an angel.

Except she wasn't an angel.  
She was Lily Evans.

She was wearing a white dress, which reached till her knees, with spaghetti straps. Her hair was open, making them look like as if they were on fire, as they clashed with her plain dress.  
The image got blocked by Sirius' hand, who was saying, "Helloooo! Prongs! Earth to Prooongs!"  
James slapped his hand away, an then resumed watching Lily, as she sat down at the end of the table.

"What the heck are you even looki- Ooooh, I see." Sirius cut himself off, as Remus and Peter snickered.

James turned his head towards them and asked," What?"  
Remus tried to control his laughter, then said, "Oh nothing, nothing at all."  
Sirius smirked and said playfully,"Being the gentleman I am, I wouldn't want to disturb you while you ogle at Evans. So please, carry on!"

James' ears turned red in embarrassment, as his three mates fell into another fit of laughter.

James then said, "If you are done with breakfast, I'd like to go out for a while."  
"Quidditch pitch it is!" Sirius exclaimed while getting up.  
All four of them got up, and left the Great Hall.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lily made her way towards the lake right after breakfast to enjoy some alone time. She had done her large amounts of homework on Friday night, so she was free the other days. She brought her book along as well. As she sat and started reading, the light got blocked by three people. She looked up and saw three girls; two of which were from Ravenclaw, and one was….

She couldn't believe it.

_Marlene._

And she was looking at her as if she never knew her.

Gathering up some Gryffindor courage, she said in a firm voice, "You girls are blocking my light."  
The blonde Raveclaw laughed and said, "And why should we move?"  
The brunette Ravenclaw then said, "Yeah, this place isn't reserved for filthy Mudbloods like you!"  
Not wanting to create another fight, she quietly got up and left. As she turned, she heard the blonde say," Go to the dump where you belong!"

And to Lily's disappointment, Marlene was laughing along the comment.

Lily went to another place she knew. It was just outside the Forbidden Forest, near Hagrid's hut. It was a small clearing filled with grass, and was surrounded by thick trees, because of which no one could see  
inside.

Lily sat in the middle of the ground, clutching her knees to her chest.

She felt her heart sink.

After trusting Marlene for so long, is this the way she repays me?  
_Was this what she deserved?_

And she sat there just like that, until the sun started to slowly sink down.

*-*-*-*-*-*

James was five minutes early, all ready for the planning session with Lily.  
At exactly 8 pm, he heard the portrait hole of the Head Common Room open, and saw Lily enter the place.

James made his way towards her and said, "Hey! You're just in time!"  
Lily looked at the clock and said, "Really, I thought I was late."

He couldn't help but notice her voice sounding so…. _Depressed.  
_  
"Lily, is everything okay? What's up?"  
"It's nothing, it's just…" she let out a sigh, and then told James about what happened earlier.

After listening, James asked, worried, "But why… why'd she do that?"  
Lily shrugged, and then said, "I don't know. What bothers me is that… I trusted her, and she repays me like this?" her voice faltered a bit while ending the sentence.

James couldn't bare to see Lily so depressed, so he said, "Well, Ms. Evans, it's their loss."

He then took Lily's small, dainty hands into his large, warm ones, and lead Lily to the couch. They sat there side by side, then James said while looking deeply into her eyes, "And you don't need to care about them, because they are jealous. And you, Ms. Evans, are perfect just the way you are, and don't you forget that, yeah?"  
Lily nodded. She felt a blush appearing on her cheeks. Hearing those words coming out of his mouth made her feel extremely better.  
Lily, then said, "Okay, so shall we start?"  
"Well, why not?" James said happily.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Like that, in almost 2 hours, the two had planned out all the things, from the food, to the decorations. They ended up surrounded by many quills, ink pots, and parchments, all scattered across the coffee table.  
Lily said, "Well that is about everything. Right, James?"

James looked around some pieces of parchments, and then said, "We forgot about the clothing theme!"  
_Woah! We totally forgot about that!_ Lily thought.

"Then, what should we keep? I'm out of ideas." Lily was right. She really was out of ideas.  
James sat quite for a while, thinking of some idea.

Lily had fun planning out the things needed. James did not bore her at all. He kept her entertained as well by sharing many Marauder jokes with her, which ended up in the two of them having fits of laughter. Occasionally, their legs would brush against each other, which would cause both of them to blush.

Lily was amazed to see him being so serious at times like this, normally he'd do less of the work, but this time, he was helping her do all of it.

She was happy to spend some time with the new James. And she seemed to enjoy it!

"Let's keep Muggle-themed clothes!" James exclaimed.  
Lily grinned. "Perfect!"

James scribbled that point on another parchment, and then said, "Done."  
Lily got up and stretched, showing some skin of her thighs. James gulped loudly.

Lily then said, "I'm tired. I'm going to go now."

But she wanted to ask James something. She was itching to ask it from the beginning of the meeting.

Lily asked, "James. Did you honestly mean everything you said about me? You know, earlier?"

James' tired expression softened a bit as he turned to see Lily. He gave a tiny smile, and then said, "Every word of it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: **This chapter is finally done too! Took me a long while, I'll admit. A small part of this story was inspired by a small scene from a Harry Potter movie (And a teeny bit of Alladin :P ) , so I won't take full credit for it. And for those who are waiting for more dramatic scenes; don't worry, they will appear soon. Read and Review please!  
**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the magical world oh Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 6:**

School for Lily was now becoming better than she had expected. James made her feel comfortable all the time. Yes, she'd get the usual taunts from people, but all those frowns would turn upside-down when he was around. He'd lighten her mood when she was down, and he'd keep her company when she wanted one. And most of all, James was supporting her. Lily hadn't got any type of support for a long time.  
Yes, she was a growing teenager, so yes; falling for James was almost inevitable. It wasn't only his looks that made her get attracted to him; it was the new kind of support he'd shown to her. James made Lily feel special for once, and made her feel loved. Everyday, he was able to make her smile even if she was troubled, and made her forget all of her problems.  
And so, everyday, Lily would fall for him a bit more.  
But she wouldn't trust her instincts to say that she was in love, yet.

School for James was going perfect. Sure, every year was great for him. He'd have memorable moments with his mates, and was great at Quidditch too. But what made this year even more perfect was the new friendship he had made with Lily. He actually made a friendship with Lily, who used to hate him for annoying her. And now, he wanted this precious friendship to last longer.  
He admits he had a massive crush on the red-head ever since he laid eyes on her. But this year was different.  
Yes, she was absolutely beautiful, with features that could make anyone fall for her, but that was just one reason for him to fall for her. But another reason was that Lily had that ability to make him feel whole, and to make him feel complete. Without her, he'd be left incomplete.  
Because of that reason, James was confident to say that he just might be in love with Lily.

Lily woke-up with a smile on her face. She was doing this more often now, she noticed. She got up and checked out the calendar she hung up at the wall next to her closet, before getting dressed.  
Today is 8th September, one week left.  
One week was left before the ball to begin, and so there was a lot of hustle and bustle in Hogwarts. Girls and boys were asking each other to go with one another in the ball. Girls especially were discussing what to wear and what not to wear at the ball. And the young students were frustrated that they were not invited, so they were planning on how to sneak into it.

James woke-up, worried. He remembered it was full-moon that night, meaning he had to go with Remus for his gruesome transformation. Every month on the full-moon, the four of them would head to the Shrieking Shack to let Remus transform into a werewolf. They couldn't possibly leave him on his own, so they made themselves into Animagi just to keep him company. Sirius was a dog, James was a stag, and Peter was a rat. They did get injured once in a while by Remus, but nothing too serious. They were ready to do anything for his friend, for he did not choose this gruesome life.  
_  
That's what friends do_, he thought. Shaking these thoughts out, he got up to get dressed.

Lily went down for breakfast. Her first class was of Care of Magical Creatures. She did not enjoy that class much, but this time there was an upside to it. It's the class James and I will share, she thought happily. So, despite listening to various comments like,"Go in the sewer, Mudblood!" or "Get away, freak!" she went on having her breakfast peacefully.  
As she sat down on her usual seat, she caught a glimpse of a tall, bespectacled man, with messy black hair. It was James, entering the Great Hall with his mates. He was still wet from his shower, and so his hair looked like a mop, with some strands sticking up behind hid head. But it suited him a lot. At the moment, he was laughing at something Sirius just said. His laugh seemed to ring in her ears for a long time. He had such a contagious laugh that would make you smile, even if you are down.

Lily has never felt like this for anyone. She isn't sure what this feeling is.

Snapping out of these thoughts, she now concentrated on the paper she was reading.  
The front paper had the heading, "**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at large: Muggle-born killings double"  
**This news always depressed Lily early in the morning. Although she has read it the umpteenth time, this just scares Lily even more. _What will happen to me when I leave Hogwarts? What will become of me?_

She did not want to worry so much, so she abandoned the newspaper and left for her class.

"Going to Care of Magical Creatures, eh Mudblood? Hope you rot in Thestrals' dung!"A boy from behind her said, as she made her way towards her class. She did not bother to turn around and see who said it.

After a while, Lily felt a hand rest on her right shoulder. She turned around and saw none other than James, who greeted her with a smile, but then came another voice.  
"Hellooo, Ms. Evans!" came Sirius Black's voice, as he flung his right arm over Lily's shoulder and gripped her in a hug. He asked, "Its cool if I call you that, right?", while showing his twinkling grey eyes to Lily.  
Lily nodded. She felt nice knowing someone greeted her this morning.

Remus Lupin joined the group as well. He greeted Lily first, and then fell into step beside James. As he saw Sirius' arm still around her, he raise an arched eye-brow, and said jokingly, "Stop, Sirius! You'll suffocate her!"  
Sirius abruptly let go, as if his whole arm got burned, and then said, "Oooh, right Remus! Sorry, Lily. Wouldn't want you hurt! James, here, wouldn't leave me alive if I left a scratch on yo- OW!"  
He was cut off when James had thrown his textbook at the back of his head. All of them chuckled, except Sirius who was glaring daggers at them.

"Where is Peter, anyway?" Lily asked.

Remus was the one to answer. He said, "He's in the Hospital Wing. He got hit by a Bludger yesterday."  
He then folded his arms and looked at Sirius, while saying, "By a certain man whose names I believe is Sirius Black."  
Everyone's heads turned towards him.  
Sirius shrugged, shook some of the hair away from his eyes then said, "He needed a nose job anyway."  
And they all laughed.

Once they reached their class, they were immediately given their assignments. They had to work in pairs, and had to tame a Hippogriff. There were three hippogriffs, and three groups of students. From each group, a pair of students would try to tame the hippogriff.

At the very last, came James and Lily's turn. (They were paired together, for both Lily and James' surprise.) As they made their way towards the creature, a Slytherin 5th year kicked dirt on Lily. James instantly wrapped his left arm around her and ushered her to move in front of him, to protect her. She felt overwhelmed by this action he did, for her.  
"Thanks" She mumbled.  
"Don't mention it." He said.

They were stepping in front of the creature, when it ran a bit deeper into the woods.  
"Well, go after it! It won't go far" Their Professor had said to the pair.

And so they made their way deeper into the woods. Just after a few steps, the majestic creature came into view. Lily just stood there in awe. It was a tall and proud creäture, with huge white wings, and a beak. It had a pair of beautiful golden eyes which could mesmerize anyone.

James stepped ahead first, so he could tame it first. He gained its trust very easily. He simply bowed his head down and stepped forward very gingerly. Then he waited like that until the hippogriff did the same. After that, James held out hid hand so that he could touch its head, and so he did.

He turned towards her, and said, "Now you try."

Lily got scared. She wasn't a fan of creatures, especially when they were taller than her.  
And she knew very well how violent hippogriffs were.

"No, I can't" Was all she said.  
James made his way towards her. "It's easy. Here, I'll help."  
He stepped behind her, and said, "First bow your head real low."  
She did as he said.  
"Wait till it moves or looks at you" James whispered in her ear. It sent shivers down her spine, knowing how close they were now.  
Lily lifted her head a little to look if it made any move.  
She found the hippogriff staring directly at her.  
"What now?" Lily asked.  
"Now" James continued, "You move forward. But very gently."  
And she did just that.

The hippogriff suddenly huffed loudly, which made her jump back. But James had caught her, and said "Its okay, Lily. I got you." Lily smiled.  
Then again, she stepped forward, slowly and steady, until the hippogriff bowed its head too.  
James picked Lily's small hand, and placed it on the creature's forehead.  
Lily laughed happily at her achievement.

She turned around to face him, and then said, "So, should we head back now?" She had loosened her hair from the messy bun she had made. It now sprawled across her back, and swayed to and fro when she made a move.

James smirked at her. He said, "Nope."

Lily lifted a perfectly arched eye-brow. Things don't go so simple when James smirks…  
"Then what will we do?" She asked.

"We are gonna fly."

Lily's eyes grew as wide as saucers. But before she could protest that she had a terrible fear of heights, James lifted Lily so that she was now on top of the hippogriff.  
He sat behind her as the hippogriff started to run, ready for take-off.  
"B-but James, this wasn't what we had plan- AAAAAAAAH!"

Lily screamed at the top of her lungs, as it took of in the air, its speed accelerating every second. She had immediately closed her eyes, but James was too busy enjoying the thrill.

"Lily, open your eyes! You are missing it!"  
Lily shook her head. "No! I'll fall!"  
He wrapped his arm around her waist, gripped tightly, and said, "I'll catch you"  
And she believed him. So she slowly opened her eyes. When she fully opened her eyes, she was stunned.

The Sun was high in the sky, with some clouds hiding its rays. And some rays reflected on the Lake, giving the scenery a mystic look. The Hogwarts castle and grounds looked so tiny from up where they were, but looked all the grand, with huge, green hills at the background.  
Lily felt the hippogriff lower, so she instantly caught James' free hand.

The hippogriff lowered towards the Lake so that now they were only a few inches far from the water. James picked her right hand and lowered it to touch the water. It left a trail of rippling water as she touched the water. She giggled happily. And so did James.

She looked at herself on the water's reflection.  
She looked so… happy.  
And then she saw herself with James.  
She looked so… complete.

As the hippogriff flew higher, she daringly lifted her arms and smiled as the cool wind hit her face. She wasn't scared. She knew James would be there. She knew James would catch her if she fell.

James wasn't looking at the magnificent scenery. He was now looking at _her._  
Her pale skin was glowing with happiness, her green eyes dancing with joy, and her hair flying in all directions. She was looking so beautiful. Yes, she was pretty, but at that moment, she was looking plain beautiful. He couldn't quite explain what he meant. And most of all, she was happy. After a long while, she was finally happy. And knowing that James made her feel this way…

It made him the happiest person alive.

After what felt like forever, they finally landed. After landing, James got off and then helped Lily get down. By then Sirius and Remus had caught up with them.

Remus was panting, as he said, "I will NEVER ride a hippogriff again!"

Sirius chuckled and clapped his friend on the back, and said, "Dude that ride was amazing! So what if Buckbeak didn't like you? You did seem mean."

But Remus was too busy glaring at Sirius.

Sirius shook his head, and then said to James, "So how was your ride?"  
James was grinning. He said, "It was great!"  
Lily completed for him, "Magical."

Sirius seemed confused, because they were now looking into each other's eyes.  
She said, "Well, I'll have to go now, got some assignments to finish."  
James habitually ruffled his hair, and then said, "See you."  
"See you too."  
And she left with a big smile on her face.  
And James was also grinning like a madman.  
Sirius was all confused. So he asked James, "What was with the googly eyes?"  
Remus just rolled his eyes at that question.

James just shook his head, and said,"I love hippogriffs."

**A/N:** The longest chapter! And I think my most favorite! They say good things are worth waiting for, so hope you like it! R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** I'm terribly sorry for taking up so much time for this chapter! I was kind of confused about what to continue with. Hopefully, I finished this one, which just might give the story some base. Hope you like it! And please R&R! Your criticism, favors, suggestions, call it what you wish, they will help me in this story's future.  
**Disclaimer:** The magical world of Harry Potter is owned by J K Rowling.

**Chapter 7:  
**  
"I hate, hate, absolutely HATE that stupid, ugly, MUDBLOOD!"

It was silent in the Slytherin common room, with nothing but the shallow flames in the fire place that was flickering across the room. The other Slytherins had retired to their dormitories for a good night's sleep.  
All except Lucius, Mulciber, Bellatrix and Severus, who were furious with Lily Evans.

"Keep your voice down, Bellatrix!", said Mulciber, "You're going to wake up the school!"  
But Bellatrix wasn't listening, and so she continued, while pacing to and fro in front of the fireplace, "I just can't stand her! She thinks she is all high and mighty with that Head Girl badge on her. Why, once I get my hands on her-"

"Bella, relax." Lucius cut her off calmly. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, and then resumed speaking, "Well, you are right that she thinks she is… superior than us purebloods, who should be gaining all the respect." Bellatrix nodded in approval.

Mulciber said, "Hey, Sev! What do you think of that Mudblood?"

Severus, who was at the far end of the room, flinched at that word.  
That dreaded word because of which his friendship with Lily had shattered, never to return again. He horribly regrets the day his temper got the best of him, and so he lost his friend, the first and last friend he would ever get.  
But it wasn't only himself who he blamed. He also blamed, and despised, James Potter.

It was because of him that he had originally lost his temper. He thinks he is all high and mighty with his gang. The thing that angered Severus the most was that he had noticed Lily actually falling for James.

Yes, he regrets, Lily has finally fallen for James.

"I believe the same" he said.

And this was slightly true.  
He was angered to see Lily fall for James, to see James being the one making her laugh, him being the one making her smile, him making her feel loved and feel special. Honestly, he wanted to be the one doing all that to Lily, since he cared for her a lot. But it appeared that James must care for her a bit more.

The sad truth broke Severus' heart into a million pieces every time.

"Well, you're quite about her." Bellatrix chimed in, "What's wrong Sev? Got feelings for that filthy girlfriend of yours?"

He had enough by now.

"I'll show you feelings!" Severus said, while striding towards her, wand at the ready.  
She had already taken her wand out, and was ready to fire a spell, when Lucius came in between them.  
He shouted, "STOP! Both of you! Have you two gone mad? One minute we go along, and the next minute, we are damn near ready to blow each others' heads off!"

Lucius' chest heaved up and down with frustration. Severus and Bellatrix had returned to the couch, near Mulciber.

He paced in front of the fireplace, and then said, "This is getting ridiculous. We are the purebloods, the ones who should be the ones praised. The Dark Lord expects us to help him rule the wizarding world. And what do we do? We fight" – he gestured towards Bellatrix and Severus – "and plan to tear each other apart! That's the last thing we want to do!" He paused, trying to catch some breath. The three Slytherins were now anxiously waiting for a plan from him.

After a while, Lucius said, "We need new people for our cause, and fast."

Mulciber shook his head, and said "That won't be too easy, Lucius. What do you expect? Students will come to us and say 'Oi! I wanna be a Death Eater!' That won't be possible at all. Not when we are under our dear Head Master's roof." Bellatrix nodded in agreement, while she played with the hem of her skirt.

Lucius' eyes wandered towards Severus.

He said, "Severus, what do you think of this plan?"  
"And why do you ask me?"  
"Nothing, it's just that I know how much you are good at… tactics and all.."

Severus thought over his statement. He noticed that this plan wouldn't be too successful.  
He shook his head, and said, "You're going the wrong way."  
Lucius' smirk grew wider.  
He continued, "It's too late to do these changes now. It would take too much time. Take a shortcut."  
Bellatrix scoffed, "And you're saying as if it's damn easy! What do you think you're upto-"  
Lucius cut her off, and said, "No, Bella. I like where this is going. Continue."  
And so Severus did, "What we should do now is to take a few, but very strong people into our cause, people who won't need much instruction, people who are mentally and physically strong. That will make our job a lot easier."  
After he had ended, Lucius exclaimed, "Wonderful Severus!"  
Bellatrix asked, "And who would we want to put with us? Who's so _strong-willed_ here?"  
After a while, Mulciber called out, "How about Potter?"

Everyone's heads turned towards him.  
Clearly they weren't expecting that answer.

"Why not?" he asked, "He's pretty strong, a great leader, and mentally fit too."  
Bellatrix spoke up, "But how are we going to call him with us? He _hates _us!"

Lucius said calmly, "Ah, but that doesn't mean we can't break him…"  
Everyone in the silent common room was enjoying this plan, with wicked grins on their faces.  
And Severus was disturbed to find that he was actually enjoying to plot against a student.

Although he is a Slytherin, Severus never ever would plot against anyone, or wouldn't mean anyone harm. But alas, he was forced into the harsh ways of the usual Slytherins.  
And he was, for the first time, looking forward to it.

His sadness on Lily's loss had stretched to such an extent that he was looking forward to breaking James more than ever.  
He wanted him to feel the same pain, to feel the same hurt he felt for 7 years, which felt like an eternity. To show him how hurt, and how empty he felt like for all those times he was degraded by James.

To make James feel how _broken _he was.

And he was ready to break James _just as bad_.

Bellatrix was the one to speak first, "The only possible way to break James, and to finally get him for us is-"  
"-With Lily." Severus silently completed her sentence. He almost saw it coming.

Lucius now stood in front of the fireplace, with a maniacal smile. The dim light was creating eerie shadows all over his face, making him look terrifying.

"That is exactly what we will do" he said in his snake-like voice. "First we will teach both a lesson, that is how to treat great people with respect. And then, with the help of our dearest Lily, we will bring James Potter to our side."  
And then he started laughing, in which Mulciber and Bellatrix also joined.

But Severus was too shocked. Although he was delighted to conspire against James, but when he got to know that… _hurting Lily_ was involved as well…

Right there, for the first time, he felt his heart torn in two ways;  
One way, towards Lily, and to keep her safe and untouched,  
And the other, driven mad into hurting James so bad, whatever the circumstances…

_Was there any other way?_

**A/N: DUN DUN DUUN! I love how evil his chapter turned out! Don't forget to R&R! So sorry for the late chapter, I've been busy lately. Don't worry; I won't take much long next time **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note:**** Yay! Another chapter done! The laptop was dead, so it took me some time to update. Hope you like this one! :D  
****Disclaimer****: The magical HP world is owned by Queen Rowling herself.**

**Chapter 8:  
**  
Lily woke up the next day, at 8:00 am. She yawned, and slowly got up. She scratched her head, and looked at the calendar habitually.

12th October.  
She smiled. Only 3 more days, she thought.

The planning for the ball was going terrific. And fortunately, everything was going according to plan. The decorations, foodstuffs, and they even managed to assign a famous band for the songs. (A/N: You'll find the name soon) Lily found planning with James a really fun task, and a task which she was always looking forward to.

Honestly, Lily never looked forward to these kinds of events. She wasn't the kind of girl who'd want all the dresses, and all the looks. She wasn't used to parties like these, and was never interested. But this time, she was actually looking forward to it. She had a dress all planned out, not too pretty like the ones she saw the other girls try, but it was good enough. And she knew that since she was going to spend the time with James, the night wouldn't be too bad.  
She then remembered the events that took place yesterday, suddenly. She recalled one significant memory; her Care of Magical Creatures Class.

_James said, "Lily, you're missing it!"  
She had glued her eyes shut. She was afraid she would fall. But then James wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, and said, "I'll catch you."  
I'll catch you…_

Those three simple words had enough power to make her stomach flutter. And most importantly, those three words had enough power to make her believe him so easily.

_She remembered seeing her reflection on the surface of the vast lake.  
She looked so happy, she recalled…  
And she looked so complete with James…_

A sudden surge of feelings burst through her as she recalled these memories.

And what were these feelings, exactly? She'd always find herself asking the same question over and over, before reaching to any conclusion.  
She twirled her hair in her fingers, thinking. The birds were chirping merrily just outside her room. The room was alighted with the steady beams of light bursting inside the room.

These feeling were so strong. Every time she'd see him, and they'd make eye contact, she would turn into mush in a second. Every time he'd laugh, she would catch his laugh like a common cold, making her feel… giddy, and light, in an instant. And every time he would smile, she would feel a blush creep at her cheeks, and all of a sudden, the world would feel like a better place.

What were these feeling? She thought.  
Was she too young to have strong feelings like these?

She pondered on and on, until she reached her conclusion, with a smile.  
_Yes,_ she thought_, I think I might be in love…_  
But Lily felt a pang of reality creep over the feelings of love, as she realized.

She remembered she was still a muggle-born. The Potter family have run with only Pure-bloods not have the once ever been linked with a Muggle-born.

She frowned to herself, feeling let down.

_This will just create a barrier between him and me,_ she thought.

The chirping of the birds had now subsided, and only the rustling of the trees were the only audible noise inside the room.

A bit of hope still remained in Lily.  
_What if James thought differently for me? _  
Shaking these thoughts out, she got up and went to change, realizing she was hungry.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Once ready, Lily made her way downstairs for breakfast. As she sat down on her seat, the Slytherins were pointing and laughing at her, giving remarks Lily didn't even want to know of. She simply shrugged; this wasn't new to her, and so resumed to eat her buttered toast.

After eating one toast, she looked around to check for James. Her eyes searched for the familiar mop of black hair sticking out at its ends from the mass of children in the Great Hall. And she finally found him.

But he refused to even look above from his meal, which was left untouched. His other friends did not seem lively at all. Sirius was quite than usual, so was Peter, Remus wasn't even present there, and James was too busy looking down.

It was as if the fire from within the Marauders had died out.

Then after a while, she left the hall towards her classes.

~X~X~X~X~X~

The students filed inside the Great Hall to attend their Lunch. Everyone seemed tired after a tough day of assignments and lectures. They all were longing for some break.

And so was Lily. Her tough classes and mount of homework teamed up with the usual taunts from the students exhausted her a lot. She was longing for a good meal to energize her for the remaining day.

As she sat down, the luminous rays of the sun streamed into the vast Gryffindor table piled high with food. The enchanted ceiling of the Hall projected the blue sky with hints of clouds here and there. And through the glass windows she could make out the green hills and lush forests scattered beyond Hogwarts.

But to Lily's disappointment, she still couldn't find James. None of the Marauders had attended any class today.  
She started to panic now. None of them had attended any class after breakfast.

_What happened to him?_

~X~X~X~X~X~

Lily made her way out of the Great Hall after dinner, feeling at ease after a hard day of studies. James attended dinner, but before Lily could run to him and ask him about his absence, he had already left.

He did not seem like himself all day, Lily concluded. And it was true. Although he did attend some classes, James did not seem in his usual high hopes. Even in Transfiguration class and DADA, where James is the class topper, he looked all gloomy and depressed. Bags under his eyes detected he did not have a full night's rest. All day, he seemed like all the happiness from him has been sucked out of him, and left nothing but a hollow shell behind.

Speaking out the password to the Fat Lady in the portrait, she decided she would wait until he returned to the Heads' common room, so that she could sort out her suspicions.

~X~X~X~X~X~

James huffed and huffed as he climbed the stairs to enter the common room. It wasn't such a pleasant day for him.  
The day after Remus' transformation was never an easy thing, they all knew. But it was something him, Sirius and Peter had accepted, anything to make Remus comfortable.

The events that took place in the Shrieking Shack were still so fresh in his mind, that he could not get rid of it. _It's so hard_, he thought.  
And indeed it was. No one would be able to live, if it were their best friend, who was cursed to undergo this gruesome transformation every month. Seeing Remus suffer so much… it was too hard for James to cope with it.  
Yes, his parents were Aurors themselves, so yes; bravery was expected out of him. But in a room, where your mate is screaming helplessly, asking someone to 'make it stop', when you know you can't…. It was all too much for James.

The whole day was occupied by visits to the Hospital wing, so nothing new happened the day. He was still sore from all the bruises and wounds he got that night, since no one can ease a werewolf. Fortunately, none of them were serious injuries, but they were just enough to wear you down for the day.

He let out a huge sigh, thankful that he had finally reached the door of the common room. Murmuring the password to the portrait, he stepped inside.  
James was just about to collapse onto the nearest couch; a red leather one, until he saw that it was already occupied.

It was already occupied by a woman, to be precise, namely Lily Evans.  
And she was sleeping.

James gaped at the figure sleeping quietly on the couch. She wore a white tank top and plaid pajamas. Her hair were scattered across the arm of the couch where her head was laying, the bright red of her hair clashing horribly with the red leather. Some of the fiery strands framed her angelic face. Those green eyes he was familiar of now were hidden underneath her lids. Her mouth stayed slightly agape.

James had never seen such a beautiful woman in his entire life.

Her lids fluttered slightly, noticing someone's presence in the room, and then she opened her eyes to reveal the pair of emerald orbs he loved. He just stood there, gazing at them.

But then he was snapped out of the reverie, since Lily was out of the couch and now standing in front of him.  
Lily was speaking in a loud voice, "Where the hell were you the day? You missed a lot of things today James! You didn't even attend all the classes! And you weren't even yourself at Heads' duties! I – I-"she stuttered at the last sentence, not being able to complete it.  
She must have been worried, he concluded.

"Look, Lily" he began, "I didn't mean to upset you, or make you worry pointlessly-"  
But she cut him off, saying, "Pointlessly? James you're my-"she almost blurted out about her new feelings for James, but she didn't want him to know yet. So she carried on, "-f-friend, and so I'm not gonna just sit around and pretend you're fine!" She let her head droop down.

He advanced towards her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, Lily, don't worry about it too much. You're gonna over work yourself up too much."

She opened her eyes and noticed the cuts and bruises covered on his arm.  
Lily exclaimed, "Oh my God! James! What have you gotten into yourself! Not only did you disappear today, but nearly got yourself killed!"

James was about to tell her it was okay, but to no avail. With a sudden burst of energy, Lily pulled James onto the same leather sofa, and started examining his wounds, just like a mother would. As she was looking over his muscular arm, he was too busy just looking at her.

He slightly smiled. She looks so cute when she worries, he thought.

Lily shook her, and lifted her eyes to look at James. Worry lines were etched upon her features. "James, what in the world happened to you? These are not ordinary injuries you'd get after falling off a broom."

He remained quiet for a while. Could he trust her enough to tell her Remus' secret? She was a good friend of his…

_So why not?_ _She_ _would never do anything to break Remus' trust, it wouldn't hurt,_ he thought.

He inhaled, and began, "Can you keep a secret, Lily?"  
She nodded slowly.  
And so he began to tell her all about Remus' problem, and how they tend to make it bearable for him. He even told her about them being Animagi, and told her all about today as well.  
He told her almost everything she needed to know.

After telling her, she remained quiet. Then she said, "I could tell, actually, that he's a werewolf. It kind of fitted, that he'd leave on every full moon…"she trailed off. He nodded.

Lily quietly sniffed. He turned and saw her eyes rimmed with unshed tears, and her face detecting fear.

Worried, James asked, "Lily…?"

She shook her head, and then whispered, "Just don't get yourself… hurt. Please."

And at that moment, without even thinking, he wrapped an arm around her and hugged her. And she hugged him back. He had to comfort her.  
With her head on his shoulder, she mumbled, "Promise me you won't."

He chuckled a bit and said, "James Potter and hurt? Ha! Impossible!"  
She giggled, and snuggled closer."

After a while, James rested his head on hers, and softly said, "Promise."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Finally got this one! I wanted the REAL story to begin from here, so that is why it took some time. So here it is! :D I was listening to "I Can't Fight This Feeling anymore" while writing this **

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**CHAPTER 9:  
**  
"The banners go here!"  
"The tables go there!"  
"Higher, higher… Perfect!"

_Perfect_, Lily thought.  
A lot of hustle and bustle was going on since the two Heads had to plan for the Welcome Ball, which was being held on that day, the 15th. And Lily was enjoying it, although she had to scream out orders twice to make them happen. But she didn't mind. She was having fun.

She wiped a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead with her sleeve. Then she looked at the progress she had managed with the help she got, and she wasn't disappointed.

The ball was to begin at 7pm sharp, and according to the arranged time-slot, the progress was going good. She was in charge of designing the interior, and James was in charge of designing the exterior. It was pretty hard work, but they both knew they signed up for this.

The Great Hall that Lily was now designing looked vast than before, since the four tables were moved to the sides. The wall was like a festivity of colors; all clashing with each other so well, that they seemed to be celebrating on their own. Bits and pieces of decorations were flying here and there to speed up the process. The way they zoomed to and fro was just one of the reasons why Lily loved Hogwarts. The magic in the castle always ceased to amaze her.

James otherwise wouldn't tell her how his preparations were going. Every time she asked, she'd always get the same reply:  
"You're gonna have to wait, Lily-dearest."  
Knowing how stubborn James was once he had committed himself to something, she gave up the attempt to find out, and so chose to wait.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Once checking whether she had missed anything or not, she made her way towards their Heads' common room. Almost everyone had retired to their respective dormitories, seeking some rest till the Ball. Lily needed all the rest she could get.

The soft thudding of her shoes against the smooth marble floor was all she could hear. Then later, she heard a voice, call out her name:

"Oi! Lily!"

Lily turned around to see James Potter, looking disheveled as ever, running towards her. She sent a smile to him, and then responded, "James! Planning all done?"  
He reached till her, and then gave a lop-sided smile. Her heart stopped for a moment, but then continued its rhythmic beating.  
He nodded, "And about time, really. You can assume how… challenging, things can be when you have to work with a bloke like Sirius."  
She laughed, and said, "I can imagine."  
He chuckled deep in his throat, and resumed walking side by side with her.

They continued walking until they reached their Heads' Common room. Both Lily and James sat on their respective couches with a loud huff, clearly stating how tired they were. Lily picked up her book she left on the couch, and began reading it, just to pass the time.

Birds were chirping merrily outside the window, and steady gusts of the cool wind made the trees sway to and fro, making them seem as if they were alive. James found the sight mesmerizing.

While she read, James stole a glance towards her. It fascinated him, how Lily could dwell into her book with so much concentration, that even if she'd be reading in a crowded room, she wouldn't even bat an eye towards the surroundings.  
She was rolled up like a ball against the arm of the couch, with her green eyes glued to the page she read. The steady beam of light that burst into the room seemed to ignite her hair, making them appear brighter than normal.  
He smiled to himself. _I just can't get enough of her,_ he thought.

Realizing he ogled at her for too long, he coughed uncomfortably, and looked out the window.

Lily looked up from the book to see James gazing out the window, lost in thought.

The light that spread across them illuminated James hazel eyes more than ever, which almost brought Lily into a trance. Her eyes wandered towards his high cheekbones, his strong jaw bones scattered with stubble, and then slowly trailing till his lips. Her eyes stayed on his lips for a moment too long. She noticed stubble growing on his upper lip as well.  
She tore her eyes away, afraid for how much longer her eyes would linger on… his lips.  
She hastily resumed reading, trying to calm down the sudden redness that appeared on her cheeks.

Lily had almost finished her chapter, when she heard a voice. She looked up to see James yawning widely, and then crinkled his nose.  
She smiled to herself; _He looks cute when he does that_, she thought.  
Lily gave him a nudge on his shoulder. He looked at her.

"Uhh, James," she said, "you might wanna take a nap."  
He looked at her questioningly. "Of course not." he said, while stifling a yawn, "Wha- makes you- say- tha?" He asked, yawning throughout the question.

Lily raised an eyebrow.

He blinked, "Alright fine, maybe I am a bit tired."  
"And maybe, you should go and rest", she countered.  
James chuckled, rubbed his eyes from under his glasses, and said, "Yes, mother."

She gave him a playful push on the arm.

They both got up at the same time, and turned towards their respective dormitories. Her hand was on the knob, when he spoke, "Uhh, Lily?"  
She turned and gave him a questioning look.  
He said, "I'll be waiting for you on the stairs. It would be better, you know, if we go… together in this, yeah?"

Lily smiled, "I'd be glad to." and went inside her room.  
"Great," James breathed out.

The four Slytherins waited in the now empty Slytherin common room; Bellatrix, Lucius, Mulciber and Severus were ready for the prom which was to begin in 15 min.  
They were dressed in black, and all of them wore emerald-green masks, which covered half of their faces. All except Severus, who held the mask.

"Is everyone aware of the plan? Lucius asked.

They all nodded enthusiastically, eager to take action. But Severus did not move an inch.

"Why the long face, Sev?" said Bellatrix in mock-concern.

He looked at her darkly, but otherwise remained still.

"Sev, Sev, Sev," drawled Lucius. "Isn't this what you always wanted? To teach that Potter a lesson? To gain the respect you deserved all this time?"  
He returned his gaze on his mask once more. Something about Lucius' voice was so convincing, so _manipulating_, that he couldn't help but agree. He did want to get Potter, after all. He wanted to teach him something, once and for all…

Severus lifted the mask, and adjusted ton his face, so that it covered only half of it. He looked up, and slowly nodded towards Lucius.

An evil smirk played on Lucius' lips. Mulciber and Bellarix gave a toothy grin, both feeling satisfied.

Lucius strode in front of the group, his dark cloak sweeping the floor as he moved. He raised his voice to discuss the room.  
"Tonight, nothing should fail. Tonight, we will teach those two how to treat us Purebloods. WE will gain all the prestige, and respect we deserved!" Bellatrix cackled, and Mulciber was enjoying it all too much.  
He continued. "We will teach those two some manners. But let's not forget. Tonight, we will have a new member join our little group. James Potter. Yes, we all don't like him, but he can prove to be a very beneficial person for us. So, remember your manners, people."

Severus froze. How could he convince Potter, to join the Dark Side? _He despised us!_ He thought.

He shared his unease with Lucius. He smirked once more, and then said, "Oh, don't worry, Severus. We will give him some solid reasons on why to join us."

Severus' throat went dry. Deep down, he knew how he'd convince him.

And he didn't know whether he supported it that much.

~X~X~X~X~

Lily stared at her reflection n the mirror. She was ready for the ball, but she couldn't get up from the seat she sat on. She didn't know why.  
She felt nervous. Her hands became slightly sweaty, and she couldn't stop the faint shivering in her legs.

It had been a long while since she had gone to any grand party like this. She was afraid on what was to come. She didn't know what to expect. Being the odd one out of all the Hogwarts' students was all so over whelming.  
And what would be of the Slytherins? What would they do to me?

She pushed aside some of the loose strand from her face, and looked once more.

_Maybe this night won't be so bad,_ she thought.  
_How will I ever know if I never try?  
_  
She smiled to herself.  
_Besides, _she thought, _I've got James by my side._

~X~X~X~X~

James straightened the collars of his shirt, and tried to pat down his hair t make them look presentable, but to no avail. They just wouldn't sit.  
He huffed and gave up the attempt. They never sat down.

He made his way out of his room, and looked at Lily's room's door. It was closed.  
Maybe she still hasn't gotten out, he concluded.

He resumed down towards the stairs, where he promised her they'd meet. She wasn't there either.  
He stood at the edge of the stair case. He saw many girls walking down the staircase (_some even casting lovey-duvey eyes at him_, he noticed grudgingly) but still no sign of a certain red-head.

He waited for ten minutes there, until he looked up once more, to see Lily Evans there.

His heart stopped.

Many of the girls who crossed the staircase were pretty, but not as eye-catching as Lily looked tonight. She wore a simple, silk emerald-green dress, which reached some inches above her feet. It fitted her petite figure perfectly, and then flared slightly at her hips. The straps hung loosely at the edge of her shoulders, to show the pale, glowing skin, scattered with light freckles. She had almost put on no make-up, although James could've sworn her lips were redder than before. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, with a few strands framing her face. Her eyes glittered with much more spirit, teamed with her dress and the contrasting color of her hair.

She smiled at him, and descended – _floated,_ he thought – down the stairs. He noticed the golden shoes she wore.

Lily was equally startled to see James. He was looking quite handsome; he wore a black blazer with a blood-red button-down shirt underneath it. Below, he wore black pants. The bright red of his shirt seemed to bring more life into his hazel eyes, making them even more mesmerizing. She couldn't stop looking at them, no matter how hard she tried. He wasn't the scrawny boy anymore; He was now a well-built, handsome teenager.

She noticed he even tried to tame his hair down. It made her smile.

When they were side by side, they stared in to each others' eyes for another moment. Then snapping out of the reverie, James said, "Lily, you look… "He slowly shook his head, "beautiful."  
Lily blushed, and said, "Well, you look quite… dashing yourself."

He flashed a grin. She could've sworn he saw his ears turn red.

Then, he extended his left elbow, and said in a deep voice, "Miss Evans, shall we go ahead towards this beautiful night awaiting us?

Lily giggled, and looped her arm around his, and said, "I'd be glad, Sir James Potter."  
And together they descended into the night.

~X~X~X~X~

"Got the plan, Sev?" Mulciber asked Severus.  
Severus slowly nodded.  
They were standing at the far end of the Great Hall, waiting for their cue.

"Don't go all soft with that Mudblood Evans." Severus winced at those words.  
"I… I won't."  
"You better not." Mulciber grunted. "I'll be outside with the others." And with that, he left Severus alone.

It wasn't long, until he saw Lily enter the Hall. She looks beautiful, as always, he thought. But his heart clenched when he knew what was at stake in the plan.  
Then he saw James enter, with her arm looped around his, both looking happy.

His heart filled with a burning rage, like a roaring fire. A fire so strong, that only one thing could keep it at bay.

_Revenge._

**A/N: YAY! Finally! This was a hard one! Please review, guys! I'll need it! ****  
**


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